New Educational Greenhouse is Growing at Food + Farm Exploration Center!
We’re thrilled to announce that we’re making great progress on the educational greenhouse coming soon to Food + Farm Exploration Center. This will be an amazing, year-round space for families, garden enthusiasts, and food lovers to experience the magic of growing food! Thanks to the generous donation from Carol and Dick Okray, our new greenhouse will let visitors go behind the scenes and discover how some of the top Wisconsin crops like sweet corn, green beans, beets, cucumbers, and potatoes are are grown — from tiny seeds to the fresh produce on your plate. This space will bring our mission to life by offering hands-on experiences that reveal the incredible journey of food from field to fork.
Rendering of Greenhouse Exterior
Rendering of Greenhouse Interior
To design a truly special greenhouse, our team visited some of the best greenhouses and agricultural centers in Wisconsin. We explored how places like Illinois Foundation Seeds, Inc. develop new varieties of carrots, beets, and sweet corn, and how Del Monte Foods’s in Plover facility produces 90% of its own green bean seeds through in-house breeding. At University of Wisconsin-Madison, we saw interesting, new pollination strategies like fly bags and cages to test effectiveness. Traveling north to the University of Wisconsin Rhinelander Agricultural Research Station, we learned how disease-resistant seed potatoes start in tissue culture before growing into the spuds we find at the grocery store. At Heidi A. Heath Farms, we learned how natural pest control—like beneficial insects such as lacewings and predatory mites—can be a fantastic tool for growers to keep plants healthy. These inspiring visits were important in shaping our vision to create a greenhouse that’s both educational and fun for visitors of all ages.
What’s coming next? Our greenhouse will grow our Wisconsin focus crops year-round to show the stages of growing from seed to harvest. But it will also be a place for our growing community to gather! We’re planning family-friendly greenhouse tours, cozy coffee chats, hands-on workshops, and special farm-to-table dinners. With high-tech irrigation and climate control systems, our greenhouse will offer visitors a chance to experience how plants breed, state-of-the-art sustainable practices, and insight into growing their own food — whether you're a home gardener, a student, or just curious about where your food comes from.
Don’t miss out on the excitement! Be the first to get updates on our greenhouse grand opening and future events like farm dinners, family fun activities, and educational programs when you sign up for our newsletter.